Newest Pu

I did leave the ginormous yixing behind and got this instead. If anyone is angry about our souring economy . . . don't blame Augie! I realize it may not be from 1975 as there is a lot of "fake aged Pu Ehr" making it's way into the tea market. The tag imbedded into the cake is awfully clean, but the cake looked good to me. I bought it anyway, because it was speaking to me that it needed a home.

inside: Their translator leaves much to be desired. It's hard to determine what they were trying to say here!

"J" is going to take it to work tomorrow before we start breaking away. I have converted DH from Oolong to Pu Ehr now! Anyway, his group leader is Chinese and he is on friendly terms with 2 others who might be able to translate it for us.

Since "J" started talking tea with his supervisor, his report with her has gotten better . . . One more way tea is a better value as a hobby!

Any honest comments are welcome. If you feel I was grossly ripped off, just say so. I am not at all offended. I bought it with the knowledge that the tea guy may have been ripped off as well. I have every intention of keeping it and brewing it, hopefully for many happy years. Thx in adv.

Not so much the cake as the paper. If you look at the paper, does it look 33 years old? Outside wrappers can be re-wrapped, but the neifei is embedded in the tea, so that's what will give it away. Also, over time, pu-erh cakes loosen up. If you look the edges of this cake, they look pretty smooth and still compressed. If you look at aged cakes, the edges are often disrupted and loosened.

Wesli wrote:Not so much the cake as the paper. If you look at the paper, does it look 33 years old? Outside wrappers can be re-wrapped, but the neifei is embedded in the tea, so that's what will give it away. Also, over time, pu-erh cakes loosen up. If you look the edges of this cake, they look pretty smooth and still compressed. If you look at aged cakes, the edges are often disrupted and loosened.

Great answer!

Talking about compression, a genuine aged teacake of 30+ years has a natural loose appearance. The lengthy period of oxidation causes an expansion of the air pockets internally, giving the teacake a fuller, fatter appearance.

Hi Augie,
See that big "7599" on the wrapper? That's the recipe number of your cake. Typically, here's how it works:
The first two digits of that number tell you the year that the particular "recipe" of this cake was first used. (1975, in this case.) The third number (9) tells you the blend/grade of the leaves (9 being the lowest, I *think*, but that doesn't necessarily make it a bad tea!). And the last number (9) identifies the factory that made the cake. What I'm confused about is, I've never seen a factory #9 before.. the major ones are for example 2=MengHai, 3=XiaGuan..... Ah, but now I see on that piece of paper in your picture, it says "The Lang Tea Factory...." probably a small factory, which again doesn't say anything either way. What matters is how it tastes!
But, it looks like this cake isn't from 1975, but it's made using a 1975 recipe. It sounds like there was a slight language barrier, I think you said, so I doubt he was trying to rip you off. A cake that big from 1975 would cost hundreds of dollars!
I hope that helps.... have fun!

Dizzwave wrote:Hi Augie,See that big "7599" on the wrapper? That's the recipe number of your cake. Typically, here's how it works:The first two digits of that number tell you the year that the particular "recipe" of this cake was first used. (1975, in this case.) The third number (9) tells you the blend/grade of the leaves (9 being the lowest, I *think*, but that doesn't necessarily make it a bad tea!). And the last number (9) identifies the factory that made the cake. What I'm confused about is, I've never seen a factory #9 before.. the major ones are for example 2=MengHai, 3=XiaGuan..... Ah, but now I see on that piece of paper in your picture, it says "The Lang Tea Factory...." probably a small factory, which again doesn't say anything either way. What matters is how it tastes!But, it looks like this cake isn't from 1975, but it's made using a 1975 recipe. It sounds like there was a slight language barrier, I think you said, so I doubt he was trying to rip you off. A cake that big from 1975 would cost hundreds of dollars!I hope that helps.... have fun!

Yes, Dizz has it right.. I was going to post the same thing but he stole my thunder. Indeed 75 could be representing the year the recipe was invented. However, it was not a recipe that the manufacture of this particular puerh invented. It is my understanding that the earliest shu puerh which range from 73-75 is always from the KunMing Factory which will end with the number 1. However, since this one ends in the number 9, it would indicate that this particular recipe was invented by the LangHe factory. However, if memory serves me correctly, I do not believe that the "Lang Factory is the LangHe factory. Why? Well, what is troublesome is that Xiaguan was the next factory to create shu tea in '76. However, if the tea code is correct, it would imply that LangHe has produced shu a year before XiaGuan. As Dizz had pointed out, it could be a small factory trying to pass them off as a LangHe product. However, it does have the LangHe registered trademark symbol. Maybe a subsidiary. No clear answer. Not to worry.. if it taste good drink it!

Dizzwave wrote:No clear answer. Not to worry.. if it taste good drink it!

Thanks for your help -- all! I knew it looked too new and the tag imbedded inthe back of the cake was suspiciously clean. I also knew the tea dude may also have been ripped off. He said he had never been to Yunan and doesn't follow Pu Ehr much, just drinks it! I wanted to support someone local and I wanted that cake. I also found out from some reading that the stems of aged cakes can sometimes turn orange -- this cake just has a hint of orange. And that there are ways of making the tea taste aged for a couple of brews.

The tea dude's cake was definately old. That cake was blacker than asphalt and it was difficult to distinguish where the leaves were unless you broke off a piece and examined closely. We also drank off one chunk for an entire day with little difference between 2nd infusion and the end of the day.

Happy Ending "J" took the cake to work and asked his supervisor to read it. She is from Hong Kong, but could read the box. Apparently, the english translation is pretty close to what it says in chinese! LOL Oh, well. Anyway, "S" smelled it and asked to break off a piece and she brewed it immediately. "Oh," she says, "this is wonderful! It reminds me of being sick!" "J" says her face lights up! "J" tells her he is glad he can share wonderful memories of being sick with her. She says:"No, when I was sick my mother would take care of me and make me this exact tea. Always had this when I was sick" She also told "J" that they did not call it Pu Ehr, but had a different name for it she coudln't remember. His whole office came by and gathered around the cake and sniffed it.

It does taste pretty mild and produces a golden liquor. I don't care if it's "counterfit", it's going to be living here a while!

Dizzwave wrote:No clear answer. Not to worry.. if it taste good drink it!

Thanks for your help -- all! I knew it looked too new and the tag imbedded inthe back of the cake was suspiciously clean. I also knew the tea dude may also have been ripped off. He said he had never been to Yunan and doesn't follow Pu Ehr much, just drinks it! I wanted to support someone local and I wanted that cake. I also found out from some reading that the stems of aged cakes can sometimes turn orange -- this cake just has a hint of orange. And that there are ways of making the tea taste aged for a couple of brews.

The tea dude's cake was definately old. That cake was blacker than asphalt and it was difficult to distinguish where the leaves were unless you broke off a piece and examined closely. We also drank off one chunk for an entire day with little difference between 2nd infusion and the end of the day. Happy Ending "J" took the cake to work and asked his supervisor to read it. She is from Hong Kong, but could read the box. Apparently, the english translation is pretty close to what it says in chinese! LOL Oh, well. Anyway, "S" smelled it and asked to break off a piece and she brewed it immediately. "Oh," she says, "this is wonderful! It reminds me of being sick!" "J" says her face lights up! "J" tells her he is glad he can share wonderful memories of being sick with her. She says:"No, when I was sick my mother would take care of me and make me this exact tea. Always had this when I was sick" She also told "J" that they did not call it Pu Ehr, but had a different name for it she coudln't remember. His whole office came by and gathered around the cake and sniffed it.

It does taste pretty mild and produces a golden liquor. I don't care if it's "counterfit", it's going to be living here a while!

Augie, when you start drinking more puerh, you will typically be able to see whether it is shu or sheng just by viewing it - even on a pic. One thing to look for in older sheng is that it is 'generally' all a uniform color and does not have a deep contrast that you will find in some shus. The pic you provided shows flecks of orange or something along those lines. Go to the Houde website.. he has great pic of older sheng you can use a reference. www.houdeasianart.com Most of all, if it cost under 150 USD, you can bet your dollar it is not more than 10 years old. Dizz is right, you have to take a loan out to buy sheng older than 35 years old.. The wrapper should of been a dead give away as anything prior '95 were typically made by a CNNP factory or the seven son tea cake wrapper with and global - tea symbol on it - Not to mention that the QS blue mark which is found on your cake dates it only a year old as it was only then that they started to use it.

Hope this helps!

Hop

Last edited by hop_goblin on Mar 11th, '08, 14:22, edited 2 times in total.

augie wrote:"... when I was sick my mother would take care of me and make me this exact tea. Always had this when I was sick" She also told "J" that they did not call it Pu Ehr, but had a different name for it she couldn't remember. ...

It may well have been another form of Hei Cha ("black tea*" as the Chinese call this type of fermented tea, including shu/ripe/cooked puerh). It may have been an aged Liu An or Liu Bao, both of which (I think) have been around longer than Shu Puerh, and have been used as part of Chinese medicine.

augie wrote:"... when I was sick my mother would take care of me and make me this exact tea. Always had this when I was sick" She also told "J" that they did not call it Pu Ehr, but had a different name for it she couldn't remember. ...

It may well have been another form of Hei Cha ("black tea*" as the Chinese call this type of fermented tea, including shu/ripe/cooked puerh). It may have been an aged Liu An or Liu Bao, both of which (I think) have been around longer than Shu Puerh, and have been used as part of Chinese medicine.

It may have also been Polay/Bolay, which is the Cantonese word for puerh.

10-15 slices fresh ginger! WHOA, if that didn't cure him, it would clean out his colon for shore! Might as well throw in a few cloves of garlic. I guess if you were indisposed a few days you wouldn't care how bad you stunk. Wheew.

1 more Pu Ehr laugh if you can stand it: "j" broke off a big piece of my "counterfeit pu ehr" for his boss at work. She is still working on it today. He told her what 7599 meant. she said if this was a lower quality cake, she would like to see what the best quality was like. Then, she takes a chunk of the pu and adds some hot water to it and "J" says she steeps it for over 3 minutes! Producing this dank, scary looking cuppa that "S" again thanks "J" for and bottoms up! Ugh.

Thanks for all the advice and links. I read the reviews on the Sheng cake I bought and I was not as impressed with mine as the reviewer was. I am putting it away to rest a few months and see what happens.

augie wrote:Thanks for all the advice and links. I read the reviews on the Sheng cake I bought and I was not as impressed with mine as the reviewer was. I am putting it away to rest a few months and see what happens.

No worries, augie. Puerh isn't really made to be drank until it's 20+ years old. There are only a couple that I enjoy young, the rest I'm keeping for aging and my education along the way The bottom line is that a top quality young sheng may not be all that great for drinking when it's new, even if it is something that's interesting.